Sienos Grupė

Sienos Grupė assessed the attitude of competing political parties towards asylum seekers and the ongoing practice of push-backs.

This report analyzes data on pushbacks from EU member states to third countries in 2024, highlighting ongoing violations of international and EU law.

It draws from NGO reports, research groups, human rights organizations, UN agencies, government services and interviews with organizations active in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Greece, Poland, Croatia, Finland, and Bulgaria. In total, 120.457 pushbacks were recorded, underscoring the persistence of this practice.

Overall, the trend of normalizing pushbacks persists, requiring stronger enforcement and greater accountability from both member states and EU institutions. The report concludes with recommendations for the EU, its member states, and Frontex to address these ongoing human rights violations.

Protecting Rights at Borders (PRAB) is an initiative of protection and legal aid groups that focus on ensuring human rights are upheld at the EU's external and internal borders. The members of PRAB have a well-established field presence in the countries of operation, which allows them direct access to victims who have experienced pushbacks and significant experience in strategic litigation.

This report presents the data on migrant deaths on the EU-Belarusian border since the traffic on this route intensified and the humanitarian crisis in the border area began in the summer of 2021. By the end of March 2024, 116 border deaths had been documented in four countries (Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) and at least another 26 cases had been reported by migrants in testimonies.